Texas GOP chair calls for Cornyn-Paxton ceasefire after yearlong attack war in Senate race

WASHINGTON – For months, Texans have watched Republicans John Cornyn and Ken Paxton unload on each other with ads about infidelity, ethics scandals and who’s more loyal to Donald Trump.

State GOP Chairman Abraham George stepped Thursday between the flying political shrapnel with a plea to stop unloading on each other and save some firepower for the general election.

“I’m calling on both Senate candidates to pull all negative advertising,” George posted on X. “It’s time to start preparing for November, and we can finish this runoff campaign on a positive note from both sides.”

Paxton, fresh off President Donald Trump’s endorsement, quickly embraced the idea. Cornyn, fighting for his political survival, rejected it.

The ceasefire request comes in the waning days of a battle that has raged for more than a year, featuring blistering attacks between the two camps. 

George’s post raises the prospect that at least some Texas Republican leaders view a Trump-backed Paxton as the likely runoff winner on Tuesday and are hoping to limit further damage to him ahead of the November general election.

The Republican runoff winner will face Democrat James Talarico, a state representative from Austin who won the nomination after a bruising primary contest with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas.

Cornyn edged Paxton in the March 3 primary but fell short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. For the past couple of months, Paxton and Cornyn have continued to spend time and money blasting each other.

Cornyn’s ads try to paint Paxton as morally reckless and ethically corrupt, using religious imagery, affair allegations and tabloid-style mockery to make him seem unfit for office.

Paxton’s ads counter by casting Cornyn as an aging Washington insider too cozy with Democrats and disconnected from the populist, Trump-driven MAGA base.

Talarico, meanwhile, has focused on bringing his side together and raising money for November.

Paxton agreed it was time to shift to a more positive tone.

“We have already changed our TV ad traffic starting today to ensure our campaign ends on a positive note and that we can focus on beating the leftist lunatic in the fall,” Paxton said in a post on X that came shortly after George’s. “I’m calling on Cornyn to do the same for the good of our party. Let’s keep Texas Red!”

Trump sought to tip the scales toward Paxton this week with a last-minute endorsement. Paxton and his allies already had released more upbeat advertising spots on Trump’s support, featuring images of the president with Paxton in various settings.

Cornyn dismissed the idea of any detente with early voting in the runoff concluding Friday.

“I know you are desperate to avoid accountability, Ken,” the Cornyn campaign said on X. “We need a few more days to burn in the fact that you plea bargained with a child sex offender, offering them only one day in prison and no sex offender registry as a favor to Nate Paul’s lawyer.”

Cornyn was referencing a plea deal struck in April between prosecutors in the attorney general’s office and Waco attorney Adam Hoffman, who avoided felony convictions and sex offender registration after being accused of sexually abusing a young boy on sleepovers.

Paxton’s office took charge of the case after the McLennan County District Attorney’s office said it had a conflict. The AG office prosecutors who handled the case have defended the agreement by saying it protected the victim from the grueling experience of testifying in a second trial after the first jury could not reach a verdict last year.

Hoffman’s attorney, Gerry Morris of Austin, previously represented Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, whose relationship with Paxton helped trigger the attorney general’s 2023 impeachment by the Texas House before he was acquitted by the Senate.

Morris has defended the plea agreement as appropriate and derided as absurd suggestions of corruption around his representation of Paul.

With the Trump endorsement, Paxton has sought to pivot to the general election, using a recent campaign event to crowd source possible nicknames for Talarico, mocking past statements Republicans say show he’s too liberal for the state.

Cornyn has continued to warn Texas Republicans that a Paxton-Talarico contest would be a tossup and that his established brand is a better bet to keep the seat in the Republican column.

Cornyn was on the campaign trail in Texas with plans to return to Washington in time for floor votes on a budget bill expected Thursday night.

He and his supporters were deploying a #stillwithCornyn hashtag on social media.